A Wyoming man died and another was injured after a semitruck collided with a freight train Tuesday in Nebraska.
At about 2:45 p.m., Dundy County dispatch received a report of a train versus semitruck injury accident on U.S. Highway 34 outside Haigler, Neb., according to a statement from Dundy County Sheriff Ryan King.
Dundy County sits in the lower Western corner of Nebraska bordering Colorado and Kansas.
Two Wyoming men were in the semitruck, a driver and a passenger. Both men were taken to Wray Community District Hospital in Colorado for treatment, the statement says.
The driver was taken to a different hospital for further care. The passenger, 61-year-old Casper man Steven Drinkwalter, died in the Colorado hospital.
King’s office’s preliminary investigation shows that the semi was trying to cross the train tracks ahead of the BNSF train’s arrival at the crossing, the statement says.
“Our prayers go out to the family of those involved,” King said in the statement.
He told Cowboy State Daily in a Wednesday phone interview that the investigation is ongoing.
No one in the train was injured, though both the train engine and semitruck were totaled, King said.
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Curved Dirt Road
The train crossing sits on a curved dirt road and was set up as a temporary arrangement to accommodate the construction of a large feedlot outside Haigler, King said.
King declined to speculate on whether he thought the temporary crossing is unsafe, though he noted in a later update to the agency's Facebook page that "this crossing is a concern to the Sheriff's Office and has been brought to the attention of several other's (sic) involved with both Black Shirt Feeders and BNSF Railway."
Black Shirt Feeders, the feed lot company, did not respond to a Cowboy State Daily request for comment by publication time.
"The Dundy County Commissioners have been extremely involved with these conversations as well and are doing everything that they can to get this issue resolved," the post says.
King confirmed to Cowboy State Daily that another train vs. semitruck crash happened at that same crossing June 7. No one was injured in that collision.
In the June 7 crash, a semi hauling an excavator became high-centered on the crossing and couldn’t move, according to a sheriff’s office statement issued that day.
The driver was able to exit the semi before the truck was struck by the train engine.
BNSF employees in the train were able to see the semi ahead of time and took cover in the engine. They were also uninjured, the statement says.
The semi, trailer and excavator bore “extensive disabling damage,” it adds.
Regarding the Tuesday crash, BNSF sent Cowboy State Daily a statement saying its network includes just over 25,800 “grade” crossings, and that “Promoting grade-crossing safety is an essential part of our operation and culture.”
The statement says a 100-car freight train traveling at 55 miles per hour will need more than a mile to stop once the train is set into emergency braking.
“When vehicle drivers or pedestrians violate traffic laws at grade crossings, or trespass onto railroad right of way, they are putting themselves and the train crews in danger,” the statement adds.
The Haigler, Benkelman and Red Willow Western Fire Departments responded to the Tuesday crash, as did Benkelman and Wray emergency personnel, Dundy County Roads Superintendent and the Dundy County Clerk.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
